


One Night For the Rest of My Life

by ashleyfanfic



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jon and Dany are background but I listed them anyway so I wouldn't get flammed, They lose the battle of Winterfell, This is after the battle of Winterfell, arya dealing with emotions, based on some speculation of spoilers for 8x03, not nice to the narrow minds of the north, post 8x03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 21:29:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18599776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleyfanfic/pseuds/ashleyfanfic
Summary: Arya believes Gendry has died in the battle of Winterfell.





	One Night For the Rest of My Life

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to justwanderingneverlost for the beta job as well as the gorgeous mood board for this story. This was actually a request for an ask over on Tumblr yesterday. I was like, "Yeah, I can do that!"
> 
> So, this is based on speculation of spoilers for episode 8x03 that I saw on Reddit. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this. If you don't care, here is a list of what I read and what you will see.
> 
> This story does have a song associated with it. "Marry Me" from Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I listened to it on loop as I wrote it. Well, and Elizabeth do have a nice correlation to Arya and Gendry. I hope you all enjoy it. 
> 
> SPOILERS  
> \- They lose Winterfell and the dragons burn it to burn out the dead  
> \- Dany falls from Drogon and Jon carries her away  
> \- Sansa and Arya retreat from Winterfell together  
> \- Bran lives  
> \- Evacuation of the North to Dragonstone  
> \- Theon died protecting Bran  
> \- Sansa is distraught at this news  
> \- Gendry takes a knife in the leg
> 
> That's all you need to know.

She watched each dirty and sad face as they passed her in the crowd. Some broken and bleeding. She’d already seen her sister and brothers, all getting ready to board ships for Dragonstone. Samwell had even stopped to check on her as she still had blood dripping from a wound on her head.

  


At this point, she didn’t feel it. Seeing her home go up in flames had been like watching her father die all over again. Like watching the Frey’s parade Robb’s body around with his Direwolf’s head. She closed her eyes, the throbbing growing worse with her grief. She still didn’t see his face, and she felt her despair growing. She knew she would have to leave soon if she wanted to be on the boat with her family. But she had to see, needed to find someone who might know what had happened to him. 

  


A hand came to rest on her shoulder and turned to see Sansa. The streaks of tears still marred her face, but she had stopped crying. “We’re ready.”

  


She looked back again, feeling her heart lurch at the thought that he might actually be gone. She looked up at Sansa and nodded, following her to the ship. The other ships in the queen’s fleet would move in as soon as the others moved out, carrying all of them to her island. Riders had been sent to keeps in the South, the dead were coming. Orders to raise the bridges, destroy them even, were given. But none of that mattered to her as she felt the cold hand of grief take her heart in its grip and twist. 

  


_ One night for the rest of my life _ .

  


*~*

  


“I’m sorry about Theon,” she told Sansa as they sat in their shared cabin a few days later. Her sister had been grieving not only the loss of their home but the loss of Theon too. She only found out the previous day that her sister was highly out of sorts over the man. She thought Sansa was beyond having any sort of emotional attachment to a man. But then, she'd thought she was above that as well. She was wrong on both accounts. “I didn’t realize you two had grown so close.”

  


“We shared a tormentor and he helped me escape. He did something bad, but he more than made up for it. He gave his life to protect Bran,” she sniffed. “He said he wanted to fight for Winterfell.”

  


Arya sipped her wine and frowned. “We lost a lot of people.”

  


Sansa nodded and turned her icy blue stare onto her. “Any word on Daenerys?”

  


“She’s awake. Jon hasn’t left her side.” She had briefly visited the dragon queen and her brother for a few moments. She had done it to escape the sadness that hung in the air around her sister but only found guilt in the other room. She could tell they were both blaming themselves for the loss of Winterfell. Sansa rolled her eyes and Arya huffed out a breath. 

  


She had sided with Sansa when Jon had returned because she had more than proven herself to be intelligent and worthy of trust. But she knew that the Northerners had been too focused on themselves and titles rather than the bigger issue of the Night King. She wanted to remind her sister of that. “The North is gone. Not even her armies could save it. What would we have done without them?”

  


“She wouldn’t have given us our independence had we won,” Sansa said as she stood from the chair and sat on the edge of her bunk, restless as she been since the moment they boarded. 

  


Arya didn’t know why she felt so angry. Maybe it was because she watched Daenerys climb onto her dragon and burn the dead. Maybe it was when she watched her fall through the sky. Or when her brother ran into the courtyard, the battle forgotten as he cradled her body to him as if she was the most important thing in the world to him. She felt defensive for a woman she barely knew and a brother she loved. Jon put his faith in Daenerys. It was hard to question that when she’d seen her in action. 

  


The venom in her voice was unintentional but unable to control. “Jon was the king and saw something in her that made him bend the knee. Have you ever known Jon to be so casual about his loyalty? Obviously, we misjudged her.”

  


“Now you’re defending her?” Sansa asked, incredulous. 

  


“I saw her fall off that dragon and I saw her men rally to protect her. She didn’t have an easy road, either. I think we’re at a point where we need to stop being so hostile to the woman our brother clearly loves.”

  


“Men do stupid things for women they love.”

  


“Women do stupid things for the men they love. No one is excluded,” she bit back.

  


“And what stupid thing did you do?” she huffed. 

  


Arya drained her goblet and set it on the table. “It wasn’t stupid.”

  


Sansa tilted her head and looked at her in surprise. “Are you in love?”

  


“Doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “He didn’t make it.”

  


Sansa took Arya’s hand in hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see...”

  


She shook her head. “It’s so strange. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t even know he was alive. And now that I know he’s dead...”

  


“You’re hurting.”

  


“I’m angry! Why would the gods give him back only to take him away?”

  


“Give him back? You knew him before?”

  


She nodded. “We left King’s Landing together. He was a stupid smith and he helped watch out for me. And with a stupid girl’s heart, I loved him. And now I’m left to mourn his loss.”

  


She stayed quiet as Arya looked at the weapon he made for her laying in the corner of the room. Sansa turned her eyes to it and sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  


She nodded, not letting the tears she felt threaten fall. “Me too.”

  


*~*

  


Dragonstone was beautiful. Davos had set up a station to distribute food and blankets to people as they arrived on the island. The small town to the east of the castle was enough to house the small folk. The Dothraki that lived took residence out on the moors with their tents. They had proven to be interesting people. She liked to spar with them, some of them calling her the little wolf, taking after her brother that they called the little Khal, according to Missandei. 

  


Sansa had helped to organize housing for others as they arrived. Arya roamed the streets and stopped at the forge, looking in, hoping he might have come in on a ship after them, knowing he would go there. But she stood watching the smiths as they worked around one another, tending to the dragonglass that was still being brought up from the cave on the beach. He wasn’t there, and he never would be.

  


She wandered through the buildings, aimless and angry. She wanted a fight, an argument, anything to defuse her anger.

  


“Glad to see you made it,” the Hound’s gruff voice called behind her. He still had the ax that Gendry had made for him. 

  


She was relieved to see he was still alive, but would never say that to him out loud. “You’re turning out to be pretty hard to kill.”

  


“I like to think that it’s because I have unfinished business with my brother. What’s your excuse?”

  


She shrugged and eyed him. “I’m glad you lived.”

  


“I’m glad you lived, too.” He was quiet for a minute and sighed. He could see her looking into the forge. “He’s not there.”

  


“Who?” She decided to play dumb. 

  


“Gendry. He’s not in the forge.”

  


“Did you see him fall?” she asked softly, not sure if she really wanted the answer.

  


“Fall? No. He didn’t fall. He took a knife to the calf, but other than that, he’s fine. Been asking people since he got on the island if anyone has seen you.”

  


“When did he get here?” she asked, stepping closer, keeping her voice low as well as her excitement.

  


“This morning. We came on the same boat.” She took a deep breath, not wanting to seem too eager, especially not in front of him. Instead, she looked around at all the people around them. The Hound chuffed. “Stop being stupid and ask me where he is. I know you want to.”

  


“You’re still an ass.”

  


“And you love that boy.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “He’s in a house, second street over, third on the left. Blue door.”

  


She gave him a nod but didn’t walk away until he had left her and turned down the opposite corner. She turned on her heel and walked, taking pride that she didn’t run. The blue door staring back at her caused her heart to race. She was here. He was behind this door and she was trying to muster the courage to knock. 

  


“You just going to stand there or are you going to knock?” 

  


Her heart pounded as she turned to her left and found him leaning against a crutch, smiling at her. She tried to maintain her aloof manner, remain detached. He reached past her and opened the door. It was then she realized he was carrying a bowl of food and she watched him limp inside. She followed behind him and looked around the small place. There was only a bed, a fire pit, and a chamber pot, the minimum of what could be spared at the moment. 

  


He sat on the edge of the bed and sipped at the brown stuff in the bowl. The thought of moving him into the castle with her was one she had to suppress. She couldn’t be too involved, could she? They’d already lost one battle. They could still stand to lose again. And what were the chances that they would make it out of  _ that _ still alive? 

  


“How did you make it out of Winterfell?” she asked finally.

  


He huffed out a breath and looked at her. “The Hound. He was coming out, saw me, and put me on his horse. I don’t know why, but he did. Helped get my leg patched up.”

  


At that, she moved away from the door and knelt on the floor in front of him. She removed his boot and he hissed at the touch of her fingers. She unwound the bandages and looked at the wound. It was a puncture wound that had been stitched up. But the edges worried her. She knew that an infection was likely. “It’s red around the edges.” 

  


He nodded. “It was infected when we were on the ship. It actually looks a lot better than it did. One of the men on the ship gave me a tonic to put on it. It works but it stings.”

  


She sat staring at the stitches and repressed the urge to rub her fingers over them, to soothe. “You’re lucky.”

  


“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” his voice had taken on a different tone. She tossed the old bandages to the side, making a note to bandage it again before she left.

  


She looked up at him and shook her head. “You could have been another soldier in the dead army. This is better.”

  


She stood and folded her arms over her chest while he sipped at the stuff in the bowl, then looked up at her. “How did you get out?”

  


“Sansa and I left together. The castle was overrun. We realized it and abandoned our home.” She shook her head. “I don’t think that part has actually sunk in, yet.”

  


He put the empty bowl on the floor and reached for a bag at the foot of his bed. That’s when she saw the hammer leaned against the wall. She walked to it, lifting it with both hands. It was heavier than she expected but well balanced. She would have liked to have seen him swing it, fighting. But then, she might not have been able to take seeing him hurt. It would have been distracting. 

  


“Your brothers?”

  


“Jon and Bran are both fine,” she said. “The Dragon Queen as well.”

  


He nodded. “I saw her dragons on the cliffs as we came up the stairs.”

  


“How long did that take?” she asked with a smirk. 

  


“Too long,” he said, grinning. “Last time I was here it wasn’t nearly this crowded.”

  


“You should be in the castle,” she said finally.

  


“Why? Don’t like my current home?” he teased. 

  


She put his hammer back in its place. “You’ll get better care there. That wound is still dangerous.”

  


He folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head. “Why don’t you just say the real reason?”

  


“That is the real reason.”

  


He shook his head. “Arya, this is stupid. Why are we pretending that nothing happened between us?”

  


She rolled her eyes but was screaming internally at herself. Why was she making this more difficult than it had to be? “I’m not pretending anything. We had sex. People do it all the time.”

  


“Yeah, people might, but  _ we _ don’t.”

  


“You’re being annoying.”

  


He shook his head and frowned. “Why did I find you outside my door if I mean nothing to you?”

  


“I never said you meant nothing to me!” she said angrily.

  


He folded his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here?”

  


She rolled her eyes. “The Hound told me you were hurt. I just came to check and make sure you weren’t doing anything stupid to make it worse.”

  


He shrugged and looked away from her. “As you can see, I’m fine. You can go on your way, now.”

  


“Why are you being like this?”

  


“Like what?” he huffed and she held her arms behind her back. “You mean evasive? Aloof? Surly?”

  


“Yes.”

  


“I’m only treating you the same way you’re treating me. If you’re only here to check on my well being, I’m fine. There’s the door.”

  


She straightened and walked to it and stepped out into the street, slamming it closed behind her. She clenched her fists at her side, angry at the tears that stung her eyes. She knew she was being ridiculous. She wanted to see him, had lamented that she would never be able to again. All the conversations she’d had in her mind about what she would say to him if they had ever seen each other again and instead she had remained so distant. 

  


_ Fear makes people do stupid things _ .

  


She turned around and went back into the house, slamming the door behind her. He was on the edge of the bed trying to wrap his leg with a new bandage. She walked away from the door, silent as she sat on the bed and helped him with wrapping his leg again. “I don’t know how to do this.”

  


“I can wrap my own leg.”

  


She looked up at him, then rolled her eyes. “No, I meant… I don’t know how to be...” she huffed out a breath as she tucked the end of the bandage into the other part. “I didn’t expect to live,” she said softly. 

  


“I thought you said you looked forward to seeing the face of death,” he said softly.

  


She looked up at him and shook her head. “I’d never actually been in a battle. I’ve fought people before but never like that.” She looked down at her hands. “Watching people die all around you as you fight for your life is difficult.”

  


“Difficult? It's horrific,” he whispered. He frowned. “They were all raised. When the Hound and I were riding out, the dead started rising...”

  


She sat on the bed beside him. “I haven’t been that afraid in a long time.”

  


“When you got those scars?” She looked over at him and nodded. “What happened?”

  


“I made an enemy of the wrong people. They came after me.”

  


“But you lived,” he said softly.

  


She nodded. “Barely.”

  


He shrugged. “Barely or not, you’re here.”

  


“So are you. Doesn’t that seem unbelievable?”

  


He smirked. “We just fought a dead army. None of this seems believable.”

  


“No, I mean… after all these years, you ended up with my brother coming to my home. What  _ was _ my home.”

  


He held her hand in his and frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  


She shook her head and sat back against the wall and he did the same. “I’m sorry I was cold to you. I just don’t know how to do this.”

  


He squeezed her hand. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t either, really.”

  


“Then why are you so open about it?”

  


He shrugged and looked down at his hands. “I don’t know how to be anything else. Why are you so closed off?”

  


“Same, actually.”

  


He shook his head. “No, you do, but you’ve had to change. Adapt. Hard road to get home.”

  


She turned and looked at him. “You’ve seen the scars,” she whispered.

  


“And the weapons training and the fighting… not bad for a little girl who had a sword she didn’t know how to use.”

  


“I knew to stick em with the pointy end,” she said with a small smile. “Your hammer?”

  


He shrugged. “I’ve always been more comfortable with a hammer in my hand. Besides, you’ve seen me use a sword. I’m terrible.”

  


“Embracing your inner Baratheon?”

  


He chuckled. “Not completely. I haven’t taken to whoring my way through the Seven Kingdoms.”

  


“There might still be time. I’d recommend you start in Dorne. It’s warmer there.”

  


“Not interested,” he whispered. 

  


“I’m glad you’re alive,” she admitted.

  


“We’re still here,” he said softly. “As you said, that has to mean something.” 

  


They were both quiet, able to hear the bustle of the town outside the door. “Are you sharing this place with the Hound?”

  


He shook his head and chuckled. “No. He told me that he’s tired of me and will be glad if he never sees me again.”

  


“He’s such an ass,” she remarked.

  


“He really is. But he saved my life, so I’ll allow it.”

  


She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I mourned for you,” she whispered. “One night for the rest of my life. I thought that’s what I had left.”

  


He leaned his head against hers, squeezing her fingers with his own. “Am I pushing if I ask ‘what now’?”

  


She smiled. “When have you ever not pushed? You’re one of the few people who doesn’t still act like I’m a child.”

  


He sighed. “It helps that I’ve seen you naked recently.”

  


“Before that,” she said as she nudged him with her elbow and examined his hands. Hands she knew were strong, could wield a heavy weapon, but touched her with reverence and gentleness. “Will you move into the castle?”

  


“And explain my presence how?”

  


She shrugged. “I claimed you.”

  


“Is that what you’re doing? Claiming me?”

  


She shook her head. “No, I did that in the forge,” she said as she looked up at him. His blue eyes held emotions she couldn’t name. 

  


He then smiled. “Yes, I suppose you did.”

  


“I liked how it felt, to just be a girl with a boy.”

  


“You’ll never be  _ just a girl _ ,” he said softly.

  


She looked up at him with a smile. “You’re not  _ just _ a boy, either. Never have been, really.”

  


He sighed. “So,  _ what now? _ ” he asked with a smile.

  


“We’re going to stay here a while. Alone. As just a boy and a girl. And then, when it comes time to fight, I suppose we’ll do that again.”

  


“Side by side this time? We always worked better when we were together,” he said softly.

  


She felt her heart race and she nodded. “We did work well as a team. Too bad Hot Pie isn’t here. He’s gotten much better at cooking.”

  


“Seen him recently?”

  


“At the Crossroads Inn a few months back,” she admitted. 

  


“I hope he gets somewhere safe.”

  


“Me, too.” She looked up at him and he had his eyes closed and she squeezed his hand. “Gendry?”

  


“Hmmm?”

  


“Are you sure you’re alright?”

  


He nodded and smiled. “You’re awful concerned about my welfare, milady.”

  


“Don’t make me hit you,” she muttered as she rested her head back on his shoulder. 

  


“I much prefer it when you shove me to the ground anyway,” he responded.

  


She smiled. “I can do it again if you like.”

  


“Want me to stand up for you?”

  


She chuckled and sat up. She pushed him to his back and crawled over him. “I can improvise.”

  


He pulled her down into a kiss. This one wasn’t rushed as the ones shared in the forge had been. It felt softer, different. He held her gently, touching her face then her shoulders. She sat back as she straddled his waist and they both worked at ridding her of her weapons and clothes. She was soon sitting astride him in naught but her trousers and he pulled her down for another kiss. 

  


He rolled her to her back and she tugged on his clothes tossing each piece to the floor. He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his pants, mindful of his leg as she stripped out of her leathers. She tried to pull him to the bed with her, but he resisted her pulling and prodding and instead dropped a kiss to her raised knee, then another and another. She leaned up on her elbows to watch him as he slipped between her thighs. His hands moved over her belly and to her breasts. She gasped as his fingers toyed with her nipples.

  


There hadn't been time for this before. They knew the dead were coming and it had been a hasty, needy act. But now, it felt like they had time. She watched him move on the bed to his stomach as he trailed his lips along the inside of her thigh. She waited, her breath catching in her throat as he leaned forward and his tongue finally touched her. She didn’t expect it to feel like that, foreign but desired. He shifted on the bed, moving closer to her, and she gasped as he slid inside, tracing around her entrance then up to flick his tongue over the hard little nub. 

  


He looked up at her and she licked her lips and clasped his hand. She shivered beneath him, feeling electricity with every swipe of his tongue. She grasped his hand with hers writhed on the bed, feeling his other hand come to hold her thigh open as he feasted on her. That’s how it felt. Like he was a starving man and she had laid out a feast before him. He licked, sucked, and bit and all of it sent her spiraling out of control. She grasped the back of his head, holding him in place as wave after wave racked through her body. And yet he still lapped at her, drinking in his fill until she felt like she had to push him away. It was too much. She felt as if she was going to shake apart in his arms.

  


He slid over her, dropping kisses along her fevered skin. She felt a bubble of happiness, knowing she still had this, could still have this with him. It never could have been anyone else. It was him and only him. She trusted him, loved him. She felt like running. She wanted to put her clothes on, leave, and never look upon his face again. It was too much, too raw, too many emotions she didn’t know how to deal with. But feeling his lips on her neck, moving along her pulse, the soft puffs of his breath against her skin, made her feel more alive than anything else she could ever remember. She brought his mouth against hers, tasting herself on his lips and it sent her head reeling. 

  


She pushed him to his back, their lips still joined, his hands now roaming her body freely. She reached between them and slid him inside her. They were both still for a moment, her forehead pressed to his as she stroked her fingers along his jaw. 

  


“Arya,” he whispered before he kissed her again. She thought she could count on one hand all the times he’d called her that, and it felt more intimate than she could ever imagine. She rolled her hips and pressed her lips against his, wanting to keep as close to him as possible. He touched everywhere he could reach and it felt like her skin was on fire even through the draft in the room.

  


He sat up suddenly, his arms around her as his mouth trailed over her throat and down to her breasts. She gripped his shoulders as she continued to move. Her head dropped back as he licked one nipple, then the other. She moaned as he used his teeth against the skin, and she dug her fingernails into his. He hissed but neither of them stopped, both striving toward that perfect release. It coiled within her, tightening with every thrust, closer and closer she went when suddenly she fell over the edge. He rolled her to her back, and when she opened her eyes, he was staring down at her with adoration and possibly love. She brought him down for another kiss.

  


She raised her legs up around him, holding him tight as he began moving inside her. Their bodies were flush together and he continued to kiss and touch. He adjusted her leg, hitching it over his forearm. She moaned his name, knowing he was going to push her over the edge again. It was a different angle and he felt deeper, closer, and when he kissed her, she grasped at his shoulders and they both fell. She could still feel him pulsing inside of her. She let his weight rest on top of her, actually liking the intimacy of him being so close. 

  


Her heart quickened at the thought. She wouldn’t leave him out here with the masses. When they were both able to move, she would take him to her room in the castle, and damn what everyone else thought. The world was ending. She was going to spend that time with the man she loved doing exactly what she wanted.

  


He rolled to his side and cuddled her closer. She tucked her head beneath his chin and closed her eyes. His hands rubbed along her skin. This she could get used to. They would make their time together count. He was hers. She was his. She didn’t think the words needed to be said. It was understood between them. This was her love. Her only love. And whatever the war brought, they would face it side by side this time. Her watching his back and him watching hers. How it should have been all along. 

**Author's Note:**

> Don't know if any of those spoilers will come true, but I'm going with them as if they are. I hope you enjoy this.


End file.
